A top goal of the Republican leadership in 2003 was passage of a ban on "intact dilation and extraction," or what opponents referred to as "partial birth" abortions. The rare procedure was used to protect the health of the mother in cases when the pregnancy had passed a certain point. Abortion opponents-and even some who supported a woman's right to choose-called the procedure murder. Pro-choice Senators-including Progressives-responded that the procedure was designed to protect the health of the mother, and that the majority of cases involved an infant that was not viable outside the womb. Furthermore, they were quick to point out that the absence of an exception for the health of the mother virtually guaranteed that the Supreme Court would strike down the ban as unconstitutional. Despite opposition of the Senate's strongest pro-choice members-including Progressives-the ban was passed, 64-33.